Fashion & Style

Street Style in Minneapolis

Video In the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis, Qais Munhazim, a Ph.D. candidate in international security, wants to show that Afghan men can be stylish and chic.

May 14, 2014

Intersection

By KAREEM AHMED

In the Uptown section of Minneapolis, young professionals enjoy happy hour, motorcycle gangs hang out at sober coffee shops and true “uptowners” cling to the past with their punky aesthetic. Qais Munhazim, 29, moved there from Afghanistan five years ago to study political science. Wearing a leather jacket, slim-fit pants and combat boots, he said he pays attention to the cut of his clothes. This interview has been edited and condensed.

Qais Munhazim, 29

Ph.D. student

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?

I am representing my country, because not many students are from my country in the school. The image of Afghanistan has been very dark and kind of this image of a man with a beard and a turban and a Kalashnikov. So to me, I carry that representation of my home with me so I have to be presentable to show people there is a different image of an Afghan man that can be in chic clothes.

WHAT INSPIRES YOUR STYLE?

I grew up in a war, and for us the most important thing was that you had two pieces of clothes to cover your body. Later on once the war ended, people started looking to media and fashion and all that, so I tried to be superfast to catch up with that.